Green Paper Related Discussions

I think it’s referring to the planned savings of 5bn but I’m guessing

I can’t believe the cheek of them all . Posing with waspi women then stabbing them in the back , claiming they’d scrap uc as it’s demeaning. Literally could go on all day with the things they’ve all said. Now in office they’re all completely the opposite. So why vote down everything the Tory’s did when they so obviously believed in the Tory ideals ?

Not sure what to make of it but Daily express running two reports claiming Starmer would like to u turn but Reeves has added it in to her savings . I can’t post the link but wonder if it’s another “ leak “

PM Keir Starmer is facing a massive revolt from Labour MPs that threatens his Parliamentary majority.

He’d love to buy them off, but thanks to Rachel Reeves, he can’t afford to do so. That's because the savings have effectively been spent, even before they're banked.

In a bid to plug the black hole in the nation’s finances, the Chancellor announced in her Spring Statement that she would slash £5billion from disability benefits.

That includes tightening eligibility for the personal independence payment (PIP), cutting sickness-related universal credit, and restricting access for under-22s.

The backlash has been fierce.

Critics claim the government is taking cash from people who struggle to get out of bed, let alone into work.

Around 80 Labour MPs may rebel, just short of the 83 needed to wipe out Starmer’s majority of 165.

At least a dozen government figures are threatening to resign if the vote, due on 1 July, goes ahead.

The mood is turning ugly as Starmer refuses to make any further concessions. Labour whips are getting tough, warning rebels they’ll be blacklisted from ministerial jobs.

Starmer has already been forced into a U-turn over the winter fuel payment. This time, though, Reeves has made that impossible.

The money’s already gone.

Don't miss... Rachel Reeves pushes us £17.7bn closer to bankruptcy - Labour calls it stability [LATEST]

Reeves has lost her grip on the nation’s finances. She left herself with just £9.9billion of fiscal headroom after October’s budget – despite pulling in £40billion of extra tax.

That’s because she spent an extra £30billion, and waved through huge public sector pay rises without asking for any productivity in return.

She borrowed £20.2billion in April, and another £17.7billion in May. Month by month, we are heading closer to bankruptcy.

Reeves is blaming the Tories, global instability and Trump tariffs, but this is her mess. The economy is shrinking, inflation refuses to fall and her tax hikes have backfired.

Her Budget national insurance raid on employers has helped destroy 275,000 jobs. Her clampdown on wealthy non-doms risks driving money and talent out of the country, and lose the Treasury more than it gains.

The Iran war is a wildcard, especially if it sends the oil price soaring.

Now the disability savings are on the line too. That £5billion has already been baked into her figures. Without it, her numbers don’t add up.

If Starmer backs down, Reeves will need to find the money from somewhere else.

Most experts already think further tax hikes are coming in October, possibly as much as £24billion to £30billion.

She may now need to add another £5billion to that.

Starmer isn't in charge. He is clearly afraid of reeves and kendal. He has no backbone.

Thi flashed up on my news feed.

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PM will force opponents within party to back him or vote against the reforms

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In March, hundreds of protesters marched towards the House of Commons to demonstrate against welfare cuts Credit: Mike Kemp/GettyDominic PennaPolitical Correspondent21 June 2025 3:27pm BST

Sir Keir Starmer is set to clamp down on Labour rebels by forcing them to show up to next week’s vote on benefit cuts.

Backbenchers opposed to the Government’s sweeping welfare reforms said their permission to be absent from Parliament on July 1 has now been withdrawn.

More than 100 Labour MPs are understood to be prepared to revolt over the Prime Minister’s plans to bring down the benefits bill by £4.3 billion.

The plans mean that only the most disabled adults could claim Personal Independence Payments, while about 250,000 people are projected to be pushed into poverty.

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When a Commons rebellion is deemed likely, MPs are often “slipped” – granted permission by their party whips not to attend – to ensure they do not vote legislation down.

But it is understood that the Government has taken the opposite approach and expects Labour MPs to show up and support the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill.

The Government’s working majority in the Commons is 165, meaning that 83 MPs would need to oppose the cuts to force a parliamentary defeat.

One MP planned to attend an event at a school in their constituency on Jul 1 until they were informed they would no longer be able to do so.

“They have cancelled everyone’s slips that day,” they said. “I was meant to be at a thing at my local primary school.

“When I found out that was when the vote was going to be, I thought maybe I would vote against the Bill at its third reading rather than its second.

“But then they cancelled my slip and I thought, okay, that has made my decision for me.”

Thousands of protesters opposed to benefit cuts for people with disabilities descended on Whitehall on June 7 Credit: Zuma Press/Alamy

The MP accused Downing Street of “very bad management” and claimed its approach would backfire by increasing the size of the revolt.

“Everyone I speak to, it’s not whether they’re going to support it, it’s whether they’re going to abstain or vote against,” they added.

“It’s the same with winter fuel and grooming gangs – it’s another hill we’re being marched up. There’s a repeated theme of a bunker mentality in No 10 and thinking they know best.”

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A second MP was going to be on an overseas trip at the start of July, which has now been cancelled altogether on account of the vote.

“We had visas, we had flights, we had everything booked and we had to cancel it,” they said.

‘Fundamental concerns not addressed’

After weeks of reflecting on the issue, the MP said they had told their whip last week they could not vote for the Bill and added that the same was true of many of their colleagues.

“At the moment, I can’t see them getting it through in its current form. I’m not interested in trying to cause trouble.

“But they need to change the details of the Bill. It’s slightly different to the green paper, but the fundamental concerns that people have had haven’t really been addressed.

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“There’s some positive stuff and some positive intentions, but the cliff-edge that this creates is just too sharp.”

More Government frontbenchers are said to be on “resignation watch” over the cuts after Vicky Foxcroft quit as a whip last week.

Vicky Foxcroft resigned as a Labour whip over the Government’s welfare cuts Credit: John Phillips/Getty Images

In a letter to Sir Keir, Ms Foxcroft, a former shadow minister for disabled people, said she could not support “reforms which include cuts to disabled people’s finances”.

One rebel said there were “clearly people on resignation watch”, but another downplayed the prospect of further resignations before MPs had tried to extract more concessions.

Last week, Sir Keir held a number of one-to-one meetings with those poised to vote against the cuts.

The meetings, which were first reported by Sky News, came days after a drop-in event for concerned MPs with Claire Reynolds, Sir Keir’s political director in Downing Street.

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Liz Kendall, the Work and Pensions Secretary, has also held a number of meetings with backbenchers in recent weeks aimed at easing their concerns over the Bill.

Ms Kendall believes that she has a strong argument to make and that at the heart of the reforms is a push to get long-term sick and disabled people back into work where possible.

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Related Topics

• Keir Starmer, 
• Labour Party, 
• Benefit, 
• Universal Credit, 
• Disability, 
• Rachel Reeves

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More stories

Starmer: I’ll face down rebels on benefit cuts

Benefits rebellion means welfare crackdown is ‘not in the bag’

Labour whip quits over Starmer’s welfare cuts

Labour welfare reforms threaten to backfire as benefit claims hit record high

Labour’s 1970s employment rights bill could send Britain over the edge

The benefits system is out of control

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Chiareds,

This just popped up on my phone from disability news . I think the descriptors for lcwra don’t have to be met constantly to get lcwra / pip but to get the severe conditions criteria they do . That’s how I read it here . Have I understood it wrong ?

@Jamk85 - That's the Cons you are thinking of, Labour don't really defenestrate their leaders (That said, Corbyn had an uncomfortable ride).

breaking good news

And despite the tuition fees betrayal, Clegg (appropriate name) sailed off into the sunset to make millions in the US.